Blue Is The New Black
by Digital Scratch
Summary: Short stories of the Smurfs and their lives and relationships in the village. A bit more mature view on the children's series - read with an open mind! :D Several pairings.
1. Morning Sunlight

**Long A/N is long: **Before you read my Smurfs fics, you should be aware of a few things. Firstly, English is not my native language, so there may be some mistakes or errors. If there is an error that I tend to make often, please let me know - I'm always happy to learn!

Secondly, I like to picture the Smurfs with body hair and a bit more distinctive looks than they canonically do. Their eye colors and hair colors/styles are all different, they HAVE hair in the first place, as well as facial hair for some of them. I hope it's not too weird for you.

The most important thing to know, though, is how I depict their society, mainly their relationships. As the Smurfs are an all-male species and the stork brings them their babies, there is no need for reproduction. Sex is just for fun, a recreational thing instead of reproductional. There is no such thing as 'being gay', since there aren't any naturally-born females. So the Smurfs are all mostly bisexual.

As the Smurfs are also a peace-loving society, there isn't much jealousy going on. Everyone shares, and it's very common for the Smurfs to have several lovers - separately or all together in a nice polyamorous relationship. Of course, there are individuals who will get jealous easily (the fiery-tempered Painter, for example), and some may prefer monogamous relationships, but even having just one lover in a lifetime isn't viewed as strange.

(And hey, because of this polyamorous society, there are several different pairings that I like, and I'm always open for ideas for new pairings. Just tell me why your favorite pairing could work and I'll see what I can do. ;D )

Oh, and I almost forgot! Some of my headcanons and pairings stem from the Finnish Smurfs songs. We have awesome Smurfs covers of a lot of popular songs. If I use a song for a ficlet, I'll let you know.

_Thank you for reading my author's note, and even more for reading my fiction!_

* * *

**Morning Sunlight**  
_Painter/Vanity/Poet_

Vanity Smurf wakes up in his king-size bed, both his lovers beside him. Painter is snoring softly, his arm slung over Vanity's stomach protectively. Poet breathes through his mouth, curled up against Vanity's side. Vanity gazes up at the ceiling above him for a while, wonders if he should finally ask Handy to install that ceiling mirror for his viewing pleasure.

Yes, he definitely should, he decides after imagining what they would look like right now. Heavenly. Just heavenly. Vanity sighs wistfully and reaches carefully over Poet to get his mirror from the nightstand. He always looks horrible in the morning, hair a mess and a slight stubble decorating his beautifully carved chin.

Poet has always been a light sleeper and no matter how careful Vanity tried to be when retrieving his mirror, the writer is stirring awake now, yawning and slightly stretching his body next to Vanity.

"Good morning, Vanity," he says then, smiles groggily up at Vanity. Vanity flashes a charming smile.

"And good morning to you too, Poet."

"Beautiful as always," Poet whispers and shifts into a better position, resting his head on Vanity's shoulder. He caresses Vanity's skin, from his collarbones to his adam's apple to his jawline and back down. Vanity's eyes flutter closed and he smiles at the affection.

"You're so amazing, Vanity," Poet whispers, smiling softly and dreamily. He's rolling his r's again, a sign of his poet mode. "You look fresh like the morning dew every time you smurf up, and for me to smurf up next to you… it is like smurfing up in my own private heaven."

If Vanity was a modest Smurf, he would blush at Poet's superfluous description. But instead he just smiles, completely enjoying himself. Poet sighs happily, Vanity feels his eyelashes and the soft brush of air against his neck.

"Should we smurf up Painter?" Poet asks after a long moment of happy silence (and Vanity inspecting his face in the mirror). Vanity glances at the sleeping artist and chuckles.

"Maybe we should. He gets jealous of me so easily, I'm afraid. I'm sure he wouldn't like us two spending private time together like this."

"I know…" Poet smiles again and reaches over Vanity to move some of Painter's black hair out of his face. "Hey… smurf up, Painter. We'd love to see your eyes of cloudy steel…"

Painter just snorts in his sleep and frowns slightly. Poet retracts his hand and nuzzles Vanity's neck, distracted. Vanity plants a kiss into his hair and then concentrates on getting his other artist lover awake.

"Smurf up, Painter," he says gently. "I miss your eyes on me."

Painter's snoring stops and his light gray eyes open slightly. He slurs a few French words before realizing where he is and who he's with.

"Bonjour," says Poet in his bad French. Painter turns onto his back and shields his eyes from the light seeping through the lacy curtains, groaning quietly.

"Too much smurfberry wine again, my dear?" asks Vanity in an amused tone. For being French, Painter has a ridiculously low tolerance for alcohol. Vanity pets his hair lovingly, holding Poet close as well.

"I didn't even drink much," complains Painter melodramatically, his arm over his eyes. "Only a glass or two!"

"Or five," Poet remarks against the skin of Vanity's throat.

Painter is quiet for a moment, then sighs and turns back onto his side, settling in a position similar to Poet's, except more possessive - he slings his arm over Vanity's stomach once more and his leg over one of Vanity's legs.

"Mmmmbut even as I am in zis kind of state, you… you're always so _parfait_," he whispers in a thick French accent, sending shivers down Vanity's spine. "I'll ignore ze zrobbing 'eadache just so I can look at your perfect, beautiful body in ze sunlight… Ach, I wish I 'ad something to immortalize zis sight…" He runs his hand down Vanity's chest and to his abdomen.

"Don't worry," Poet mumbles sleepily. "I've already composed an ode to Vanity's beauty in the morning… I just need to smurf it down…"

"And 'ow are you supposed to do zat when you're falling asleep?" Painter smirks at Poet over Vanity's throat.

"I'm not," Poet retorts weakly.

"Oh, Poet darling, you simply must get up and smurf that ode down," fusses Vanity. "It'd be such a shame if a masterpiece such as that was forgotten because of you sleeping!"

"But you smell so good, Vanity," Poet protests. "Like flowers and love and beauty. It's exhilarating… I just want to breathe you until the sun goes down on this day. I want to breathe in your essence and remember it forever, to carry it inside me until the end of time…"

"Oh, you're such a sweetheart, Poet," coos Vanity, absolutely loving the attention. "Tell me more, please?"

"I want to caress every inch of your soft, sky-colored skin, to feel it under my fingertips… kiss butterflies on your chest and stomach… curl my fingers into your silky hair and press my lips against yours, drown in your talented, amazing kisses, your warmth and absolute perfectn- mmmmf?" Poet's soft rambling is interrupted by a loving, passionate kiss from Vanity. The shorter Smurf exhales softly against those amazing lips and curls his toes in pleasure.

Painter watches this for a moment, his fingers itching to paint it, sculpt it, sketch it, whatever. He feels left out but it's still undeniably beautiful - the way Vanity lovingly caresses Poet's cheek and jawline with his thumb, the way Poet sighs and flushes a lovely shade of purple. Poet's not picture perfect like Vanity, but he is cute - and it makes a wonderful contrast; perfection versus imperfection. It brings out Vanity's superior beauty.

But just watching becomes too much for Painter eventually, he wants some of that too. So he grabs Vanity's shoulder and quite forcefully pulls him away from Poet, only to crush their lips together now. Poet is left panting, a blissful smile on his face and an inspiration for a love song in his mind.

Painter's fingers slip into Vanity's hair as he deepens the kiss, enjoying the feeling of Vanity's breath catching. Their tongues battle for dominance, Vanity pushes Painter against the mattress and nibbles at his lower lip.

Poet slips out of the bed quietly, smiling to himself. He grabs his notebook and a quill and sits back on the bed, his back against the headboard. He starts writing, stealing small glances at the other two Smurfs.

Painter is the one to break the kiss. His breathing has become ragged and he watches Vanity with adoring, half-lidded eyes. "You are so beautiful, Vanity," he murmurs, tracing Vanity's face with his fingertips. "My eternal inspiration, ze most perfect muse. No piece of art could ever compare to you."

Vanity smiles, clearly flattered and perfectly content with all the praise he's getting this morning. "Why thank you, love… You're so sweet." He leans in to plant a soft kiss on Painter's lips before sitting up and stretching, his movements like a cat's.

"I must go shave now, and then it is time for my morning exercise," Vanity says then, getting up from the bed and glancing back at his lovers, both of whom are staring at him with a dreamy smile. He basks in their love for a moment. "I expect you two to take part in the training music this morning as well. Okay~?"

Both artists nod.

Vanity giggles and winks at them before disappearing into the bathroom. "Thank you, my dears~!"

Painter and Poet sigh happily.

"Such inspiration," Painter declares.

"Yes," Poet replies. "A perfect muse."


	2. Letters from Wherever

**A/N:** This one was inspired by the Finnish Smurfs song "Terveisin, Smurffi" (based on Alexia's Summer is Crazy). I'll translate the beginning of the song for you here:

_I got the most beautiful letter from you,_  
_I got the best message from you,_  
_I got the- I hope that I can wait_

_Now that you're somewhere far away_  
_I want to read your stories_  
_How you wander around the wide world_

So, I know it's officially Smurfette singing this, but in these songs, she's already with Brainy and Timid/Scaredy (don't really know which one) and Baker and Lazy and Dreamy and someone who sings "sha la la la la" all the time… :I So I don't really think it matters, heh.

Again, thank you for reading!

* * *

**Letters from wherever**  
_Poet/Traveler_

Poet returns home from Vanity's house late in the afternoon, after dinner with the whole village. His sand brown hair is disheveled and he's rather exhausted from writing so much in one day. Inspiration is cruel sometimes, when it comes in at full force you need to write it all out before you can rest.

Poet checks his mailbox before going in, and to his pleasant surprise, there's a letter from Traveler Smurf. It's wrapped in a brown manila envelope and there are three exotic postmarks on it. Poet smiles softly and takes the envelope inside his house, his hands shaking slightly from anticipation when he carefully rips it open and fishes the letter from inside it. There's also some sand inside, it smells of scorching sun. Among the sand Poet finds one single thorn - from a cactus, probably.

Traveler writes of his latest adventure, how he got lost in a huge desert, under the hottest sun, wandered there for days until he almost couldn't walk anymore. But then he'd managed to find a magic carpet from a hidden treasure cave and used that to fly into the nearest town. Poet sighs and sinks deeper into his armchair, his imagination taking him to the scene Traveler describes. Burning sand under his feet, dry, hot air and mirages everywhere around him. Traveler's hand in his own.

Another sigh. Poet's heart aches to be with Traveler again, it's been so long since they last saw each other. Traveler only returns to the village once or twice a year, stays only for a few days before his soul needs to be free again. But the nights he spends in the village, he and Poet spend in each other's arms.

They've been pen pals for over fifty years and had this long-distance relationship for a good twenty years now, and still Poet can't help but fall in love all over again whenever he reads Traveler's letters.

Traveler ends his letter in a promise to come visit after six weeks, and a wistful declaration of love. Poet's eyes skim over the last words and the _Love, Traveler Smurf_ in the end and then skip back to the beginning. He reads the letter three times in a row and then presses it against his chest, his heart pounding loudly under it. Six weeks, and he'd get to see his love again.

"I hope I can wait that long…" Poet whispers to no one. He knows there will be more letters before six weeks have passed, but it does little to ease his anxiety.

Poet writes a long reply letter, as he always does, but there's no address to send it to, no possible way for him to get it to Traveler. So he puts it in a small wooden box under his bed with Traveler's letters, just like always, and tries to return to his normal routine. His heart still beats restlessly when he thinks of Traveler and the six weeks before he can see him. But it's inspiration for him, inspiration for writing heartbreaking poems about waiting and hoping and loving. He copes.


	3. Tension

**Tension**  
_Grouchy/Jokey_

Grouchy hates Jokey. He hates those idiotic joke boxes that blow up in your face, stupid pies that splatter on your face, every single prank that Jokey can think of. Grouchy hates them all with all his blue being.

He hates how Jokey seems to believe it's the world's greatest thing to pester Grouchy with those annoying pranks and jokes until he's ready to punch the prankster in the face. Why can't Jokey bother someone else, _anyone _else?

"Hey Grouchy!"

Great. Speak of the devil. Jokey's face is only inches away from Grouchy's, and the idiot is grinning like… well, like an idiot. Grouchy glares daggers at the other smurf.

"I have a surprise for you!" Jokey declares happily, a bright yellow gift box in his hands, complete with a glittering red bow on top.

"I hate surprises," Grouchy grumbles, unsurprisingly. He can't even begin to understand why everyone in the village is so easy to trick - he can recognize an exploding box when he sees one, unlike all of the other smurfs. What he doesn't understand, though, is why he still lets Jokey push the box into his hands.

"C'mon, Grouchy, open it!" Jokey is all smiles, too innocent and an expecting glint in his eyes. Grouchy knows what's coming, and he hates it, but still he pulls off the red bow and opens the lid like an imbecile. There's a deafening explosion of smoke as the box blows up, just as expected, in Grouchy's face.

"I hate pranks," Grouchy announces angrily and lets the empty box drop onto the ground. Jokey giggles happily. Grouchy wipes ash off of his face and thinks that that giggle just may have been worth the embarrassment and his ears ringing for a small eternity.

Even though he hates Jokey. He tries to tell Jokey that, but it comes out as "I hate giggle," which doesn't even make any _sense_.

Jokey looks confused for a moment, but then he giggles again. "You hate giggle, Grouchy? Why's that?"

Grouchy can just feel the heat rise onto his cheeks. He hates blushing. "It's- that's not- I didn't mean to say that," he explains, or tries to, and grimaces at his stuttering.

"Then what did you mean to say?" Jokey leans in closer, breathes on Grouchy's lips, his eyes half-lidded and an almost smug grin on his lips. Grouchy stops thinking completely for a moment, even forgets to sulk. He looks quite strange without the permanent frown on his face.

"Grouchy?" Jokey continues in a husky voice, stepping closer. Grouchy takes a step back, but Jokey inches forward on every step and soon he finds himself between a wall and Jokey.

"I hate-" Grouchy really can't think of anything to hate at this very moment when he could count Jokey's fair blue eyelashes if he wanted to. "I hate…"

And then Jokey giggles again, it's that quirky trademark giggle, and backs off like nothing happened. Like nothing was going to happen.

"Oh well, I gotta go surprise someone else now. Smurf you later, Grouchy~!" And with that, he's gone. Just like that. Like he didn't just- just _harass _Grouchy!

But Grouchy still can't think of anything to hate, even with his face still painted with ash and his knees weak from the closeness of another smurf. Well okay, he does hate something - the way Jokey makes him feel despite being the most annoying smurf (right after Brainy, of course).

Grouchy watches as Jokey skips further away from him and presses his hand against his chest. Under his ribs his heart is beating frantically for the prankster smurf.

"I hate this," Grouchy mumbles no-one in particular, but doesn't manage to sound nearly as angry as he wants to.


	4. Hide and Seek in the Dark

Alright, here it is - the longest chapter up until now - and probably ever. Several pairings, see below. Got the idea from the Finnish Smurfs songs again, called _Jäit kii_ (original Lost Boys - The 69 Eyes) and _Missä Smurffi luurailee_ (original Microphoneaye - Kwan).

As always, thank you for reading! I do hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! :D

* * *

**Hide and Seek in the Dark**  
_Greedy/Lazy, Grouchy/Jokey, Pushover/Scaredy, Hefty/Handy, some slight Painter/Vanity/Poet in the end_

Smurfette was the first one chosen to do the seeking. The other participants scattered off to different directions in Poet's house while she slowly and patiently counted to one hundred with her eyes closed.

Lazy was too lazy to find a creative, non-obvious hiding place so he just crawled into the most comfortable closet he could find with a pillow and a blanket and curled up in there. He was asleep in mere moments, forgetting all about the hide and seek game.

Greedy heard the soft, familiar snoring from the closet while looking for a good hiding place. He'd already visited the kitchen and snagged something to snack on while hiding, and now he decided he'd feel the safest if he was with his sleepy lover. So he quietly slipped into the closet and closed the door behind him. It was rather crowded inside, and Lazy stirred awake from his comfortable sleep.

"Huh…? Was I smurfed already…?"

"Sssh," Greedy whispered, smiling gently. "It's just me. I'm gonna hide with you here."

"Oh… okay." Lazy smiled and sighed happily. "You smell like cinnamon."

Greedy chuckled and once he was sitting comfortably on the closet floor, he pulled Lazy into his arms. Lazy happily snuggled up to his chest and sighed.

"So soft and warm…" the sleepy Smurf whispered tiredly, smile in his voice. "And I can hear your heartbeat…"

Greedy stroked his back lovingly. "Glad to be of help," he replied, slightly amused. "I hope we won't be smurfed soon, it'd be nice to stay like this for a while… At least until we run out of snacks and get hungry."

There was no response, Lazy had already fallen asleep. Greedy realized that his little lover always fell asleep this quickly when he was listening to his heartbeat. It made him feel warm and fuzzy all over.

* * *

"H-h-hey P-pushover?"

Pushover Smurf stopped in his tracks, feeling the familiar goosebumps of _who the smurfing smurf is gonna ask me a favor this time_ rise. He frowned and took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever favor was coming next.

"Yeah?"

"C-c-could you h-help me f-find a place to... t-to smurf?"

Pushover turned around angrily, but when he did, he realized two things. A.) It was none other than Scaredy Smurf standing in front of him and b.) Scaredy was so nervous he was shaking all over, taking turns fiddling with the hem of his shirt and his messy, strawberry blonde hair. Pushover's heart melted at once.

"Oh… uh, yeah, of course I can, Scaredy." He couldn't help it, he always said yes to Scaredy. There was no way he could've ever rejected the poor, anxious Smurf. "Maybe you can smurf with me?"

"O-oh, that- th-that would be smurfy," Scaredy said, glancing around nervously. "I-it wouldn't be so s-s-scary then…!"

Pushover smiled and took Scaredy's hand. "Come, I know just the place."

He took Scaredy to the kitchen and they crawled under the table together. Thanks to the large tablecloth, they were invisible if one didn't lift the hem of the cloth. Scaredy pressed against Pushover and gulped. Pushover smiled softly and kissed his forehead, wrapping his arms around the shivering Smurf.

"It's okay, Scaredy, it's just a game," he cooed. "Nothing bad is going to happen to anyone."

"I know…!" Scaredy squeaked. "B-but I can't help it!"

"Well… maybe I can?" Pushover hugged Scaredy a little tighter and rubbed his nose against the smaller Smurf's. Scaredy held onto him, blushing.

"P-pushover…" the anxious Smurf whispered. "W-what-"

"Ssh," Pushover replied softly. "We'll be heard and found if you talk. Let's not talk."

"Oh-ok- mmm?" Scaredy couldn't finish his sentence as Pushover gently, very carefully pressed his lips against his. They stayed there for a moment, silent and still, before Pushover broke the kiss softly. He opened his eyes and found Scaredy staring at him with wide, dark eyes.

He was about to apologize, when he realized that Scaredy had actually stopped shaking, except for his hands, which now rose up to cup his cheeks. The touch was feather-light.

And then Scaredy pulled him into another kiss. Pushover, as always, could not say no.

* * *

"I hate hide-and-go-smurf," Grouchy informed nobody in particular. He looked around, scowling, and tried to find a place to hide so that he wouldn't be found first. He hated seeking even more than hiding. His hands balled into fists as he made his way through the house, grumbling to himself as he saw so many good, comfortable hiding places already taken. Then, just as he was about to give up and crawl under a bed even though he hated the dust and hated crawling in general, he heard a familiar, quirky giggle from behind him that made the hairs on the back of his neck stick up in horror.

"Hey Grouchy!" Jokey Smurf bounced next to him, energetic as always and grinning like a thousand suns. Grouchy dumbly stared at the prankster's rather adorable dimples for a moment before somewhat regaining his composure.

"I hate 'hey'," he cleverly replied.

Jokey giggled again, then leaned closer to Grouchy. "Where are you gonna smurf?" he inquired, curiosity in his eyes.

"It's none of your business," Grouchy muttered. He could've sworn Jokey smelled like honey. Which he didn't really hate, to be honest.

"Aww, don't be such a sourpuss, Grouchy!" Jokey grabbed his wrist and pulled him down. "Let's smurf under the bed together!" Grouchy stumbled and fell down onto his knees with a thud and a grimace of pain, but after glancing towards the door he decided to join Jokey under the bed. Jokey went first, and Grouchy watched somewhat absently at the prankster's round, soft bum wriggling and then disappearing from sight. Then he realized what he'd been doing, flushed purple and shook his head violently. _Concentrate_.

"Isn't this smurfy?" Jokey said in an excited voice after Grouchy had managed to make his way next to him and settle down. Grouchy frowned and looked away.

"I hate smurfy."

They were silent for a few moments, but then Grouchy felt Jokey press against his side, warm and alive. His eyes immediately shot towards the prankster, who was, as expected, grinning at him - but there seemed to be a shy edge in his grin this time, a faint violet flush on his cheeks. Grouchy was stunned, his dark eyes stuck on Jokey's captivating light brown ones.

"Wh-" the grouch didn't really know how to react to the sudden closeness.

"Ssh," said Jokey, turning onto his back. It looked difficult, but he managed to do it anyway. He was still pressed against Grouchy's side comfortably. "We'll be smurfed in no time if you make noise."

Grouchy shut up and looked away again, but he felt those sparkling eyes still on him, sensed the smile on Jokey's face. What had he done to always end up with this guy!? And… and why wasn't he hating this like he was supposed to?

* * *

Every single good hiding spot was already taken, it seemed. Hefty was desperately looking for one, but it seemed impossible now. After accidentally interrupting Scaredy and Pushover's shy and sweet makeout session under the kitchen table, he hurried (cheeks flushed) up the stairs. And there it was, right in front of him: the perfect hiding place. A clothes closet. Hefty rushed to the closet, but another Smurf had the same idea - Handy arrived at the closet doors from the other direction at the same moment Hefty did. The two friends looked at each other.

"I was here first!" Hefty declared, forcing the closet open.

"No you weren't!" Handy argued, trying to step into the closet first. Hefty stopped him and pulled him backwards from the back straps of his overalls. Handy stumbled but regained his balance. "Hey!"

They didn't have time to argue longer, because the lights went off and they heard Smurfette call "I'm coming!" from somewhere in the house. Hefty and Handy shared another look and then nodded to each other in understanding, scrambling to get into the closet quickly. It was very cramped and the two had to stand face to face, pressed together in the darkness. Hefty pulled the door shut and they fell into silence.

It wasn't really uncomfortable, the closeness, but they both felt strange somehow. A small tingling in the tips of their fingers and toes, a new kind of thumping of their hearts, slight heat between them. They had never been this close physically, this _intimate_, even though they were best friends.

Handy didn't know where to put his hands, he felt anxious whenever he couldn't do anything with them. He fidgeted a bit, his hair tickled Hefty's nose.

"Uh… well this is…" Hefty said awkwardly.

"Yeah," Handy said. "I know. But we'll be smurfed if we speak, you know…"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Silence. Handy lifted his hand, but as it brushed against Hefty's toned arm, he let it drop back down. He subconsciously sucked in his tummy when he realized how fit his friend actually was. Hefty felt it and chuckled.

"Ya trying to impress me or something, Handy?"

"Huh? Uh-no! No!" Handy assured him, and if it wasn't so dark, Hefty would've seen a slight blush creeping up on Handy's cheeks.

"Hahaha, don't worry about it," Hefty said, grinning. "I'm flattered. But you don't need to impress me, I'm already… well, impressed."

"You are?" Handy blinked in surprise. He tried to make out the outline of Hefty's face but couldn't in the dark.

"Yeah. It's not like you're scrawny, on the contrary actually... and besides, you're probably the smartest Smurf in town, right after Papa Smurf, of course!" Hefty brought his hand up and ruffled Handy's hair - well, his hat.

"W-well I don't really think so, but thanks, Hefty…" Now Handy was actually thankful of the darkness, as he was blushing rather fiercely.

"Ya don't give yourself enough credit," Hefty said, smiling.

"Hefty…"

"I can just imagine you blushing right now," Hefty teased. Handy punched him weakly on the chest.

"Shut up, you smurf," the inventor laughed. "Don't say stupid things."

"I didn't," Hefty remarked innocently. Handy felt his rumbling laughter through his chest.

"Smurf up or we'll be smurfed," he warned his friend, but he had to fight a smile that was tugging the corners of his mouth upwards. Hefty quickly shut his mouth, but he was having a hard time staying quiet and his shoulders were shaking from silent laughter.

"Stop that," Handy whispered, chuckling now too. "Why are you even laughing?"

Hefty just shook his head in the darkness, unable to answer properly - and besides, he didn't even know the reason himself. He leaned against the wall behind Handy's back, placing his elbows on both sides of Handy's head, surrounding his friend. After a few deep breaths the strongest Smurf was finally able to calm himself down a bit, and suddenly he found himself staring into Handy's eyes in the darkness, just inches apart. His heart did a little somersault, or so it felt, and his whole body went numb for a moment.

Handy, too, had realized what was going on, and he was having trouble breathing. His chest was heaving heavily and the palms of his hands were sweating. He'd never been this close to anyone, and somehow having his strong friend surround him like this was overwhelming in a totally new and amazing way. He let out a shaky sigh, couldn't take his eyes away from Hefty's.

This new tension between the two friends was heavy and hot, and neither of them knew what to do about it. Hefty felt Handy's breathing against his lips and balled his hands into fists, his shoulders tensing considerably. He subconsciously leaned forward so their nosed bumped against each other, and the gasp Handy made made him shiver. Hefty had never been interested in any Smurf romantically or sexually, and he'd been perfectly happy that way, being able to concentrate on other things, but suddenly he felt a burning need to hold Handy closer, to feel the warmth of the inventor's body against his, to crush their lips together and taste Handy on his tongue. It was a strange and intense feeling, and Hefty had no idea how he should react to it.

Handy's heart was pounding in his chest so loud that he couldn't hear anything else. His legs felt weak and wobbly and his hands, no, his whole body was shaking from the intense closeness. By instinct, he leaned in and tilted his head slightly, and felt Hefty do the same. Their lips brushed against each other so lightly they were left wondering if it had really even happened.

And then the worst happened. The closet door opened and light poured in, momentarily blinding the two Smurfs. They quickly pressed their backs against their respective walls and stared at Smurfette, who was standing there, smiling innocently like a sunflower.

"I found you both!" she happily exclaimed, apparently oblivious to what had been happening - or what had been about to happen - in the closet. Both Handy and Hefty were flushing purple, and neither of them could look at the other.

"You shouldn't have smurfed in the same place!" Smurfette scolded. "Now we'll have trouble deciding who's going to smurf next!"

"I'll do it," both Handy and Hefty offered, which made Smurfette giggle.

"Oh my, you boys are so silly!" she laughed, probably thinking they were acting like this for her. "Well, maybe I'll pick who'll be the next smurfing!"

While she pondered about her decision, Hefty and Handy glanced towards one another and quickly looked away again, cheeks burning with embarrassment of what had almost happened.

"Alright, I've decided! Hefty will look next!" Smurfette announced peppily. Hefty cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Okay, if that's what you want, Smurfette…"

"Tee hee!" Smurfette giggled. "Come on, Handy, let's find us smurfy hiding places! And no peeking, Hefty!"

As Handy left with Smurfette, unable to look at Hefty, the stronger Smurf turned towards the wall and started counting slowly to twenty-five, his mind still buzzing from the magical moment with Handy.

* * *

"Grouchy?" Jokey said after a long, very much welcomed silence.

"Hrmph."

"Why do you claim to hate everything?"

Taken aback by the unexpected question, Grouchy turned to look at Jokey, who was staring at him with surprisingly serious eyes. The prankster was still laying on his back, absently stroking the wooden slats of the bed above them with his bony fingers.

"Uh…" Grouchy started intelligently. "Because… because I hate everything?" he tried, but sounded unconvincing even to his own ears.

"No you don't," said Jokey, giving a small, breathy laugh. "So why do you keep saying that?"

Grouchy blushed and looked down. "Because that's just how it is!" he insisted almost angrily. His brow furrowed into a fierce scowl. "Could you smurf up, I'm trying not to get smurfed here!"

"Are you, like, afraid you'll get hurt if you show your feelings?" Jokey stubbornly continued, never taking his eyes off of Grouchy.

"N-no! And I hate Smurfs who are too nosy!" Grouchy glared at Jokey, trying to get the sandy-eyed prankster to give up on the matter by giving him his most furious look.

Jokey just gave another little laugh, uncharacteristically gentle. "You're a strange Smurf, Grouchy," he told the other Smurf. "I kinda wish I could get to know you better."

"I-I-I hate getting to know Smurfs better!" Grouchy stammered awkwardly, seriously considering escaping the tight situation he'd found himself in. Jokey sure knew how to surprise others - in more ways than just by giving exploding presents too, apparently.

They suddenly heard approaching steps from close by, so they quickly fell silent. Grouchy was thankful for the silence and hoped that Jokey wouldn't continue from where they'd left off ever again. He did find the prankster intriguing and even attractive, but he would've absolutely hated it if anyone had found out - especially Jokey himself.

Jokey was deep in thought - he'd found himself thinking about Grouchy Smurf quite a lot lately, and it was confusing to him. He'd never really had a crush on anyone before, but now he was pretty sure he did. He loved being around Grouchy despite all the hating looks and words, and there was little he wouldn't have given to see the village's resident grouch smiling even just for once. He sighed a bit wistfully and closed his eyes.

The steps came closer and even though both Grouchy and Jokey were as quiet as possible, in a mere moment they found themselves staring at Hefty, who'd crouched down to look under the bed.

"Ha, smurfed ya!" Hefty laughed, although it sounded a bit half-hearted for some reason.

"I hate being smurfed," Grouchy muttered angrily while awkwardly crawling out of their hiding spot. Jokey followed him, giggling.

"So, which one of us will smurf next?" the prankster asked, grinning widely.

"Huh," Hefty said and scratched his ear, confused. "Now I see why Smurfette found it stupid for two Smurfs to smurf in the same place. Well, I guess I'll have Jokey smurfing this time. Okay?"

"I hate okay," Grouchy said, glanced at Jokey with an unreadable expression and wandered off. Jokey giggled again.

"Okay, I'll be it next! Better find a good smurfing place~!" He went to the nearest corner, closed his eyes, and started counting to twenty-five.

* * *

It was very quiet in the kitchen. Scaredy was slightly trembling again from the sheer dread of being found, and Pushover was holding him in his arms, gently stroking his back to soothe him. He had buried his nose into Scaredy's soft hair and felt absolutely wonderful, like he was surrounded by the smaller Smurf's scent. He had actually completely forgotten why they were under the kitchen table in the first place. He felt strangely content. He was needed in a completely different way than usually, and it felt amazing.

Scaredy pressed his face into Pushover's shirt and whimpered quietly. "C-can't we quit…?" he whispered pitifully.

"Uh, I don't think that'd be very smurfy of us, Scaredy…" Pushover thought about it, his hand finding Scaredy's hair and absently fiddling with the silky strands.

"I-it's just, this is too much pressure," Scaredy squeaked. "I'm scared…!"

Pushover gave a gentle laugh. "Scared, huh? Why? What's the worst thing that could happen?"

"W-we could be found!" Scaredy replied.

"And?"

"Well… w-well then one of us would have to smurf next a-and we wouldn't be able to- to be together anymore!" Scaredy's voice trembled rather adorably when he said the last part. Pushover couldn't help but smile.

"Heh, Scaredy, dear… It's just a game. We have all the time in the world after the game's over."

"You… you promise?" Scaredy lifted his head so he could look Pushover in the eyes, his own, dark blue ones wide and innocent.

"I promise," Pushover said, his heart melting again at the sight in front of him. "You wanna smurf over at my place tonight?"

"Y-yes!" gasped the smaller Smurf. "Maybe then I won't have nightmares!"

Pushover chuckled and hugged his little Smurf close. But then they suddenly heard a familiar, eccentric giggle from right above them, which gave them both a start. Scaredy screamed and clung to Pushover for dear life, and even Pushover's heart skipped over a few beats out of fright. The tablecloth was lifted and Jokey's head appeared in its place, the usual wide, teeth-baring grin plastered on his face.

"Surprise!" he exclaimed giddily. "Smurfed ya!"

"You sure did," Pushover muttered under his breath, stroking the whimpering Scaredy's back to try and soothe him. "Nearly smurfed the smurf out of me, you did."

Jokey just laughed more. "Well, which one of you lovesmurfs is gonna smurf next?"

Pushover sighed and looked down to the poor shivering lump of Smurf in his lap. "I will," he said in defeat.

"Awesome!" Jokey jumped off of the table and flashed yet another grin. "I'm gonna go smurf then. See ya!" And with that, he was off again. Pushover was pretty sure he heard the prankster mutter something to the effect of, _now where the smurf is that Grouchy_, but he wasn't sure.

"Well… I'm going to have to go smurf the others now," he then said gently to Scaredy.

"No! No no no no no!" Scaredy chanted and held onto him tighter. "I'll be alone!"

"It's just for a little time," Pushover said. "You can stay here and I promise I'll come here right after I've smurfed somebody else."

Scaredy was quiet for a long moment, and Pushover was beginning to get impatient before the smaller Smurf finally pulled back and looked at him with determination in those midnight blue eyes.

"O-okay," Scaredy said. "I- I can do this."

"I know you can," Pushover said with a small laugh. He planted one last soft kiss on Scaredy's trembling lips and then got up from under the table. He stretched for a moment, his back and legs aching from sitting in one position for so long, and then headed off to look for the other Smurfs. He figured he wouldn't have to count to twenty-five, since it had already taken him long to get looking.

Scaredy watched as his protector left him in the dark, and then curled up into a ball, tightly closed his eyes and tried not to be so afraid.

* * *

The game lasted for another hour after Pushover had found someone else to seek. There weren't too many good hiding spots in Poet's simple house, and after a while, these games always became repetitive. Before long, it was just a matter of who was found first, as all the most obvious and popular hiding spots became familiar to the Smurfs.

Smurfette was the one to finally call the game over. She turned on the lights and when everyone started crawling out of their hiding places, she happily invited them all to her place for some smurfberry cupcakes and cocoa.

Scaredy and Pushover didn't attend, however. They had a sleepover to prepare for, after all, and Scaredy wanted to get all of his things to Pushover's place as soon as possible. So the two of them said good night to the others and went off on their way, hand in hand.

"Oh, do you think they're a couple?" Smurfette asked her best friend Vanity excitedly as they continued walking towards her house.

"My my," Vanity mused. "I do think so, Smurfette, my love! I must say, they are a fitting couple!"

"You're right!" giggled Smurfette. "I hope they're happy together!"

"Yes," replied Vanity, staring at his reflection in the hand mirror he always carried around. "Even though I'm sure they'd be even happier if they had _me_ with them…!"

"_Oui_," came another voice from Vanity's right. Painter smirked and let his fingertips brush against the small of Vanity's back in a rather possessive manner. "Especially in bed."

Smurfette snorted and giggled again. "Oh, Painter!"

"Well, he is right," Vanity said with pride. "Obviously."

"Guys? Look that way," Poet cut in suddenly from behind the three, and nodded towards their left, where Jokey had latched himself onto Grouchy's arm and was practically dragging him forwards, chattering away happily. Grouchy didn't look happy, but he did have a faint blush decorating his cheeks and he seemed to make only weak protests to whatever Jokey was babbling about.

Vanity's comment to the matter was a very emphatic "_My_."

"So ya noticed 'em too, huh?" Tailor joined in, an amused smirk on his lips. He glanced at the others in a conspirational manner. "I think they hid together through the whole game. At least I smurfed 'em together twice."

"Yeah, I smurfed them together once too," Poet said with a small smile.

"Oh, as did I," Painter said.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Smurfette chirped and clapped her hands in excitement. "Maybe Jokey can make Grouchy smile for once!"

"So much _l'amour_ in the air," Painter sighed. "It's inspiring!"

"Maybe I'll share some of _my_ love with you two tonight," Vanity chuckled in an affectionate voice and wrapped his arms around both Painter and Poet, his two lovers. Poet chuckled shyly, while Painter smirked again, looking happy.

Smurfette then noticed something weird about their little group. Handy and Hefty weren't talking and joking with each other like usually. In fact, Hefty was following them with his hands in his pockets, eyes on the ground, and Handy was trailing a bit further behind, sending worried looks in Hefty's direction. She wondered if something had happened before or after she'd found them in the closet together. Maybe they'd had a fight? But then she saw Hefty glancing back at Handy, blush when their eyes met, and quickly turn away. Her eyes went wide, and she wasn't sure what to make of all this.

"Smurfette?" Vanity said, raising one elegant eyebrow. "What's wrong, darling?"

"Oh, I'm not sure, Vanity," she answered, still peeking over her shoulder at Hefty. Vanity, too, followed her gaze and immediately saw what she saw.

"Dear me," he bemoaned. "I wonder what's smurfing on between Handy and Hefty!"

The others, too, looked to the mentioned two Smurfs curiously.

"Huh, what's this?" Tailor said, his eyebrows shooting all the way up to his hairline. "What's happened to 'em?"

"I don't know, Tailor," replied Smurfette, a bit sadly. "They seemed just smurfy before when I found them hiding in one of the closets…"

"Maybe they 'ad a fight?" Painter suggested. "At some point during the game, I mean."

"I didn't hear anything," Tailor reflected. "Did anyone?"

But nobody had. Smurfette hummed thoughtfully and slowed down her steps to walk beside Hefty. "Hefty? Is everything alright?" she asked, worry apparent in her bright blue eyes.

"Huh?" Hefty lifted his gaze from the ground, looking puzzled. "What- what are you smurfing about, Smurfette? Of course everything's alright! Everything's just smurfy!"

"But you and Handy aren't talking and both of you seem so gloomy," Smurfette explained.

"W-we aren't?" Hefty gave a small, nervous laugh. "Oh gee, I didn't notice! Handy, ol' buddy, ol' pal, how come we aren't talking?" It sounded awfully forced, but was good enough. Handy's face lit up enormously as he jogged forward to catch up to them.

"Well, Handy? Did you have fun playing hide and smurf?" Smurfette asked the handyman, smiling.

"Sure, Smurfette!" said Handy, stealing a glance at Hefty. "Like always!"

"Yeah, like always," Hefty repeated a bit distractedly, his eyes on Handy. Smurfette realized something, flashed a knowing smile and walked back to Vanity and the others to give the two friends some privacy now that she'd got them to talk again.

"What was it, Smurfette?" Vanity asked as soon as they got out of Handy and Hefty's hearing range.

"Oh, I think there's some _smurf_ in the air!" Smurfette giggled.

"You mean-" Painter begun.

"Like between-" Tailor continued.

"Hefty and Handy?!" all of the boys finished together. Smurfette laughed melodiously again, winking at her friends.

"Well, of course I can't say for smurf yet, but it does seem like that to me!"

"I _hate_ smurf in the air!" Grouchy exclaimed from where he and Jokey were walking, making everybody laugh in delight.

"Hey," Poet suddenly said, remembering something. He tapped his blue index finger against his lips thoughtfully. "Aren't we forgetting something? Or somebody?"

There was a short silence, before all of them remembered who was missing from the group.

"_Greedy and Lazy!_"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Poet's house, Greedy woke up with a start. He'd just dreamed of a huge, delicious smurfberry and cream layer cake splashing into his face, and he was a bit disappointed because he never got to actually taste it. After a very disoriented and confused moment, Greedy realized he was still in Poet's closet with Lazy sleeping in his arms, the smaller smurf's head resting on his chest. Greedy sighed blissfully and wondered how much time had passed since the game started. They hadn't been found yet, so he figured it hadn't been too long. He yawned and realized he was really hungry, so he picked a muffin from under his hat and started munching.

Lazy snuggled up against him and smiled in his sleep. "Soft and warm…" the sleepy Smurf mumbled. "I'll stay here… forever…"

"I hope not," said Greedy even though he knew his partner was fast asleep. "I'll smurf of hunger if you do."

"Hmmnnmmm," sighed Lazy and went on sleeping. The house was quiet and dark, perfect for a snack and a nap. A game of _hide and seek in the dark_ really had been a smurfy idea, Greedy concluded in his mind. He didn't know it, but most - if not all - of the others would have agreed, too.


End file.
